What To Do While Our Prayers Go Unanswered

Recently God answered a prayer that I’ve been praying for the past three years, or maybe more. I had no idea that it would look like what it does. But it’s good.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

I was asking, seeking, and knocking. And nothing happened. For three years. Some of you have been asking for longer than that. In fact, the prayer isn’t even completely answered. Yet. Why did I have to wait so long? I’ll never know all the answers, but these are a few I see looking in the rearview mirror.

I had to understand better who I was in Christ. If I didn’t have the confidence that I am a good fruit tree, loved by Jesus who is my strength and my help, I would have been overwhelmed by the answer.

I had to figure out what it was that I really wanted. I’m not so sure this had to happen before my prayer was answered, but it is an incredible overflow blessing. I can move forward with more certainty of what I want my life to look like. This makes decisions a whole lot easier, and more fun!

Some of my wants had to change. In some areas of my life I wasn’t even sure what I wanted or if I wanted anything. In other areas God began giving me different desires, and ultimately a way to live those out.

I pursued some glimmers of hope that my prayer would be answered. Some of those glimmers faded away. Others have helped me transition toward the answer. I have learned good lessons from them all.

What are you waiting on the Lord for? Maybe you’re not waiting for the same reasons as I had to wait. But don’t ignore what God is doing in the waiting. The little areas He is working on in you right now, He will use to bless you in the future – when you continue to ask, seek, and knock. Like my friend Janna says, “It didn’t look like I thought it would, but I still got what I wanted.” Because when we ask, seek, and knock at Jesus’ door, His plans and our desires blend to create something more beautiful than we could imagine on our own.